The present invention relates to a multi-fictional worker's safety harness, and more particularly to a harness which will function, as required, for fall protection, ladder climbing, controlled descent and worker positioning.
Workers' safety harnesses have traditionally been constructed for a single one of these functions. For instance for work positioning, conventionally a worker's belt has been provided with rings to either side, so that positioning line can extend from one side of the worker, about an object such as a telephone pole, to the other side. By loosening the tension on the line, the worker can move to a different vertical location on the pole, and then become secured in the new location by increasing the tension again on the line.
Another problem with conventional harnesses has been that they often only fit comfortably on the male anatomy. Such harnesses have for instance featured parallel straps extending across the wearer's chest, a most uncomfortable construction for most females.
Other safety harnesses, for example, are designed for ladder climbing, have featured a D-ring secured centrally in a belt worn by the worker. If the worker fell, he or she would be restrained by a tether secured to the D-ring at the waist, thus putting tremendous pressure on the wearer's spine and neck.
A safety harness having adjustable front D-rings has been described and illustrated in Fisk et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,829 issued Apr. 20, 1993. That harness features a pair of interacting straps, one being a shoulder strap and the other being a waist and seat strap. The two straps are slidably connected through a slide ring assembly. Adjustment of the harness, to snugly fit a particular wearer is done asymmetrically from an adjustment buckle on the waist strap, the adjustment of which also affects the positioning of a tether ring where the shoulder strap and waist strap meet on the front, and an adjustment buckle on a portion of the shoulder strap. The shoulder strap is made of two sections which cross over at the front and back, but which are secured by way of stitching, to a leather backpad, at the back.
Other patents of general background interest are Canadian Patent No, 2,028,090 of Olsson, teaching a type of shoulder strap having resiliently yielding springs or the like and Canadian Patent No. 1,246,506 of Eckman teaching varies types of clothing in which safety straps are inserted.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety harness which is simple in design and which can be adjusted by a wearer easily and without confusion. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a safety harness which is multi-functional and is readily adjustable to a variety of body shapes and sizes for males or females.
It is a further object of the present invention, to provide, in such a safety harness, a variety of connection points which allow the harness to be used for any typical work task that requires a person to be suspended or to arrest an accidental fall.